Complying With HIPAA, Privacy Laws, and Exceptions During a Public Health Crisis

Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
- work Practice Area
Health
- event Date
Tuesday, November 24, 2020
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
-
This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
This CLE course will guide healthcare counsel on navigating HIPAA and other privacy laws in relation to public health. The panel will discuss the preemption of state public health laws and exceptions to HIPAA and other privacy laws, as well as the implications of the interoperability and information blocking rule. The panel will offer steps that healthcare providers should take to help ensure compliance with both privacy requirements and public health requirements.
Faculty

Mr. Shah advises clients on privacy, cybersecurity, and data protection laws and regulations, as well as healthcare fraud and abuse matters and government investigations relating to health information technology. He counsels clients on digital health and data asset management strategies and related compliance issues. Mr. Shah’s work focuses on defense and counseling of healthcare entities on legal and regulatory compliance issues around privacy, cybersecurity, and data asset management. He has extensive experience with legal issues related to health information technology, big data analytics, and digital health strategies. He provides compliance counseling, establishes and evaluates compliance programs, conducts privacy and security risk assessments, establishes compliant contracting strategies to build trust networks, and responds to data breaches. Mr. Shah is a Certified CSF Practitioner, a designation given by the Health Information Trust Alliance, an organization that provides training to develop and maintain effective security programs for healthcare and life sciences companies that comply with security laws, regulations, and standards, including HITECH, HIPAA, PCI, JCAHO, CMS, ISO, NIST, and various other federal, state, and business requirements. He is also recognized by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society as a Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems (CPHIMS). Mr. Shah is also recognized by the International Association of Privacy Professionals as a Certified Information Privacy Professional in the United States.

Ms. Metnick is a partner in the Corporate Practice Group in the firm's Chicago office and a member of the Healthcare and Privacy & Cybersecurity Teams. She represents a range of healthcare industry clients, including hospitals and health systems, physician organizations and digital health companies. Ms. Metnick advises on healthcare regulatory and transactional matters with a focus on health information privacy and security. She is the founder and leader of Sheppard Mullin Healthy AI, which is an initiative focused on legal issues relates to the use of AI in healthcare. Ms. Metnick counsels healthcare clients on issues relating to AI, including governance, contractual matters, and data related issues. She advises clients on a range of privacy and security laws, including HIPAA and other federal and state privacy laws. Ms. Metnick also counsels businesses in data breach investigations and compliance with federal and state breach notification laws. She is a Certified Information Privacy Professional/United States (CIPP/ US) and a Certified Information Privacy Professional/Europe (CIPP/E).

Ms. Klein is a leading practitioner on privacy and data protection matters, with a special emphasis on the health and life sciences sectors. She has been recognized by The Legal 500 US in the cyber law (including privacy and data protection) category from 2019 through 2022. She has focused on privacy and data protection law for more than 20 years. Ms. Klein assists clients with issues arising under state and federal privacy, security and data breach notification laws and regulations. These include the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 (HITECH), Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act, the FTC Health Breach Notification Rule (HBNR) and myriad state privacy, security and breach notification laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA). Ms. Klein has examined privacy and data protection issues arising in a broad array of settings, ranging from hospitals to professional sports, including medical device and pharmaceutical companies, developers of health-related apps, and leading-edge technology companies.
Description
Healthcare providers and health plans must balance the privacy concerns of patients with the need to protect patients and others from potential infection. Covered entities and business associates under HIPAA must consider HIPAA and other privacy law obligations as they use and disclose health information during a public health crisis.
Many privacy laws have exceptions that permit or require the use and sharing of protected health information when an important public policy purpose exists. These exceptions are often narrow, and counsel must understand when an exception applies and when it does not.
To comply with health privacy laws while meeting the disclosure needs for public health purposes, healthcare providers and their counsel should have policies and procedures in place to ensure the strict requirements for disclosure are met.
Listen as our authoritative panel of healthcare attorneys examines HIPAA and other privacy laws in the context of public health, preemption of state public health laws, and exceptions. The panel will also discuss measures that healthcare providers should have in place to ensure compliance with privacy requirements as well as public health requirements.
Outline
- HIPAA privacy in the pandemic
- Impact of other state and federal privacy laws
- Circumstances where disclosure of health information may be permitted or required
- Best practices for disclosure in the public health context
Benefits
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- What are the considerations for healthcare providers when determining whether to disclose protected health information during a public health crisis?
- What are the privacy rule exceptions that permit covered entities to disclose protected health information without obtaining patient authorization?
- What steps should counsel take to ensure strict requirements are met to disclose protected health information to a patient's employer?
Unlimited access to premium CLE courses:
- Annual access
- Available live and on-demand
- Best for attorneys and legal professionals
Unlimited access to premium CPE courses.:
- Annual access
- Available live and on-demand
- Best for CPAs and tax professionals
Unlimited access to premium CLE, CPE, Professional Skills and Practice-Ready courses.:
- Annual access
- Available live and on-demand
- Best for legal, accounting, and tax professionals
Related Courses

The ACA and the New Administration: CMS Proposed Rule Impacting Marketplace Eligibility and Other Notable Actions
Tuesday, April 22, 2025
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

Healthcare Speaker Programs and AKS Compliance: Regulatory Update, Lessons Learned From Recent Settlements
Tuesday, May 27, 2025
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

HIPAA and Beyond: Health Information Privacy Updates
Tuesday, May 27, 2025
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
Recommended Resources
Navigating Modern Legal Challenges: A Comprehensive Guide
- Business & Professional Skills
- Career Advancement